Sunday, July 8, 2007

"Cure" the Yips???

That has to be a golf "barn burner" that equals such gush as "muscle memory" and "mental toughness."

Whoever comes up with that stuff either needs to return to school or do some research, or both.

"Cure" is a word associated with sickness, illness or disease. Perhaps in the truest sense of the word "disease," which, dissected is "dis - ease," we could make a case for "cure," but you cannot "cure" yips, since it is not an illness. It is a normal manifestation of the true interaction between the conscious mind, and the nonconscious, involuntary, non-discriminatory way our thinking works. That does not require a cure, but sound management strategy. The yips will not respond to "cure." It will only yield to good mental management strategy. Even physical manipulation will not do the job. What is required is the knowledge and wisdom to install an appropriate means to prevent the invasion of the tension that produces the physical manifestation known as the yips. That means putting up a temporary barrier to the thinking that causes the tension. It takes too long to "change" the thinking, especially when all that is needed is postponing it long enough to make a fully free golf swing.

And make no mistake. Yips is not just for putting, as many appear to think. It is available to every shot in the game. Most just don't notice its presence. They think all those mishits are purely mechanical problems. Maybe...maybe not.

What is needed comes through clearly understanding and installing the automatic principle into your game approach. Google "yips" and you will see tons of over-stated, over-wrought descriptions of what one must do to "cure" them. We repeat. There is no cure because there is no infirmity. There is a problem, but it is a mental one. There is no bug, no virus, no infection.

Oh you'll find plenty of advice out there, but look and study as hard as you wish and as we have done, and you will find no one who seems to understand the problem or the solution because they find the right question to ask.

Hang in there. We'll help you find it.

1 comment:

Phillip Tin said...

Awesome blog Carey, keep up the good work. Love the diversity in the subject matter you address. Was a bit disappointed when i found your blog only went back to june, guess i'm going to have to order your books now to have something to read between updates.